Copy i 



HISTORICAL SKETCH 



of the 



Park Region about McGregor, Iowa 
and Prairie Du Chien, Wisconsin 




By 

Althea R. Sherman 



HISTORICAL SKETCH 



of the 



Park Region about McGregor, Iowa 
and Prairie Du Chien, Wisconsin 



Althea R. Sherman 

> \ 

National, Iowa 



Illustrations from photographs by A. A. Horning 
P. J. Clark and the author 




Reprinted from Iowa Conservation, Vol III, Nos. 1 and 2 



.A/1 / ^56- 




Sketch Map of Upper Mississippi Valley 

OCT 131919 




Picturesque Formations Showing Effects of 

Erosion 



HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE PARK REGION 

ABOUT McGregor, iowa, and prairie 

DU CHIEN, WISCONSIN* 

A NY extended account of the chief points of interest 
/-\ either in the human histoiy or the natural history 
■^ -^of the region ahout McGregor, Iowa, and Prairie 
du Chien, Wisconsin, would fill large volumes, hence this 
short narrative can serve as an introduction only, but an 
introduction which may lead to a wider and a valued 
acquaintance it is hoped. 

The homely comparison, ''as old as the hills," is sup- 
posed to suggest the limit of antiquity, nevertheless there 
are things older than the hills in the region under our 
consideration, that excite decided interest ; that may be 
exhibited to visitors as things worth seeing ; that should 
be counted among the many claims of a spot that has 
been deemed suitable for one of our national parks. 
Since the attractions, that are older than the hills, had 
their origin when the foundation rocks of the hills were 
formed, it seems best to begin at the beginning and first 
to speak of its geological history. 

If by chance you mention this region to the paleontolo- 
gist, he recalls it as the home of the Trenton limestone, 
which is exceedingly rich in the fossil remains of certain 

* Copyright, 1919, by Althea R. Sherman. 



brachiopods, gasteropods, and eeplialopods, some of 
which have been pronounced to be forais new to science. 
The geologist in turn speaks of it as a portion of the 
"driftless area," and he ^\^ll tell you of his abiding in- 
terest in this region, because it remained an island in the 
sea of ice, which submerged the surrounding country 
during the glacial epoch ; that to this insular situation 
are due some of the attractive features of its rugged 
scenery ; that the picturesque, castle-like piles of rock 
with their fantastic pinnacles and bartizans, cut out by 
erosion of wind and water, still stand because they were 
free from the grinding, leveling forces of the mantle of 
ice, which smoothed the surface of the earth in adjacent 
territory; that here the Mississippi river flows through 




Photo by Horuins: 

The Heights, McGregor 

its old channel cut by its water, ages before the glaciers 
came. If the geologist be one who is intimately ac- 
quainted with this locality, he will refer to the fine dis- 
play of St. Peter sandstone, called Pictured Rocks, sit- 
uated a short distance below McGregor. Such a geolo- 
gist was Dr. W J McG^e, a native of Farley, Iowa, one 
of Iowa's most illustrious sons, and one of America's 



most eminent scientists. In his "Pleistocene Histoiy of 
North easteni Iowa" he has given this description: 

"Sometimes the sands are snow-white and under the 
summer sun dazzle the eye of the lieholder; again, they 
are cream-tinted or yellowish or gray or buff; sometimes 
dingy brown prevails, elsewhere red appears in bands 
and irregular streaks and blotches, then blue-blacks and 
rich greens come in, and sometimes the stratification is 
marked off with a gaudy succession of all these colors; 
and in the 'Painted Rocks' near McGregor the cliff's are 
banded, mottled, and fancifully figured in harlequin 
coats of gorgeous red, brilliant yellow, dazzling white, 
deep blue, jet black, ^'ivid green, rich brown, and an end- 
less variety of mixed tones and shades, and in endless 
variety of patterns. Here the color-lo\nng aborigines 
gathered,, and their tumuli and temples crown the sum- 
mits, and their implements and weapons crowd the talus- 
flanked bases of the gorgeousl.y painted walls; and here 
flock the pleasure-seeking wiiites to marv^el at the glory, 
enjoy the grandeur and symmetry of fonn, and revel in 
tiie delicious coolness of glens shaded by luxuriant foliage 
and tempered by refreshing springs." 

The geological history of these hills is written every- 
where on their rocks, but for most of us this writing 
needs interpreters. Of such were Dr. David Dale Owen, 
Professors James Hall, Samuel Calvin, T. C. Chamber- 
lin, R. D. Salisbury, and Dr. W J McGee. From their 
interpretations the remote antiquity of our hills is made 
clear: that our oldest rocks, the Saint Croix sandstone 
(formerly known as Potsdam sandstone) were deposited 
in earliest Palaeozoic time, when life first appeared on 
the earth, something like sixty million years ago; and 
that this formation was succeeded by the Oneota lime- 
stone (foraierly called Lower Magnesian limestone), fol- 
lowed by Saint Peter sandstone and Trenton limestone. 
To the storms of wind and water that for millions of 
years have eroded the surfaces of the dolomite forma- 
tions are attributed the picturesque sculpturings of 
cliffs and crags that call forth words of admiration from 

5 



matter-of-fact scientists. This testimonial comes by let- 
ter from Professor Paul Bartsch : 

"I know of no stretch that lias more picture qualities 
per aero in tlie entire river region, than your chosen 
site. I have canoed and motor-])oated the entire jNIissis- 
sippi from St. Paul to the lower flats, and therefore feel 
([ualified to speak." 

Wliether superior or not the landscape remains for 
each man's judgment. The views here presented can 
not vaiy much from those that first greeted the eyes of 
jDrimitive man, and so they will remain for ages to come, 
if the destructive hand of mankind is stayed from rutli- 
less waste. 

The many Indian mounds to be found in this region 
attract the attention of the archipologist. At the same 
time the malacologist in his study of the living mollusk 
seeks here the vast beds of fresh-water mussels. Not 
until a tliorougli survey of the flora and avifauna of the 
region has been made will it be possible to speak with 
exactness regarding the numljer of species. In some 
parts of the woods and by the roadsides wild flowers are 
abundant, but some beautiful prairie species, known to 
the early settlers, have disappeared. 

Ornithologists pronounce the Mississippi Valley one 
of America's best fields for bird study, especially during 
migration days. The many islands in the neighborhood 
of the mouth of the AYisconsin River offer attractive rest- 
ing-places for migratory water-birds. The inclusion of 
these islands within a national park makes of them a 
perpetual bird sanctuary, greatly needed. Such a haven 
is exactly in line with a noteworthy undertaking that in 
recent years in Louisiana has secured the setting aside 
of 400,000 acres of marsh land as wnld life refuges. Tliis 
enterprise has been termed "the great Mcllhenny 
project, " Of it a writer in Bird-Lore has said : 

"i\Ir. Mcllhenny feels that what has been done should 
l>e considered only the beginning of a. series of reserva- 
tions for migratory birds, that should extend northward 
through the Mississippi Basin and onward to north west- 

6 







^'^m«'9 







Photo by Clark 



Beulah Falls 



r 



ern Canada. The project is a big one, but well worth 
while. ' ' 

Tlie physical features of this region were formative 
factors in its early human history. The Wisconsin River 
from time immemorial had formed a part of nature's 
thoroughfare by which the Indians had traveled over 
their customary canoe route from the East to the Missis- 
sippi River. This well-known route began on the St. 
Lawrence River, proceeded up the Ottawa River, crossed 
the great inland seas to Green Bay, struggled over the 
sinuous course of the Fox River to the narrow portage 
between that river and the Wisconsin, down which it 
held its way to the Father of AVaters. Arriving on the 
banks of tlie great river, north of the mouth of the 
Wisconsin River the Indians found a long, narrow 
prairie admirably suited for encampment. To it they 
resorted annually for tribal intercourse, for barter, and 
for games of ball. 

One ball game played at Prairie du Chien on Sunday, 
April 20, 1806, between the Sioux on one side and the 
Sac and Fox Indians on the opposing side was witnessed 
by Lieutenant Zebulon M. Pike, and briefly described by 
him. A much fuller, clearer account of these Indian 
ball games has lieen given us by the artist, George Catlin, 
in his "Manners, Customs, and Conditions of the North 
American Indian." He appears to have been a zealous 
ball fan, and declares that he never missed a game that 
he could possibly attend by riding twenty or thirty miles 
to it. Seated upon horseback he would watch a game 
from its start about nine o'clock in the morning until its 
finish near the hour of sunset. Of attendance at ball 
games he says: 

"It is no uncommon occurrence for six or eight hun- 
dred or a thousand of these young men to engage in a 
game of ball with five or six times that number of spec- 
tators of men, women, and children, surrounding the 
ground and looldng on." 

In the game played at Prairie du Chien and described 
by Lieutenant Pike the players numbered only two or 



three hundred men, of whom the Sioux were the victors, 
and he adds: "more I believe from the superiority of 
their skill in thro\Wng the ball than by their swiftness, 
for I thought the Puants and Rej'nards the swiftest 



ninners. ' ' 



Arrangements for a game were made three or four 
months in advance, and the players were chosen with 
customaiy ceremonies. Bets amounting in value to sev- 
eral thousand dollars were staked on the day preceding 
the game. Regarding this Catlin saj^s : 

' ' The betting was all done across this line, and seemed 
to be chiefly left to tlie women, who seemed to have 
marshalled out a little of everything that their houses 
and fields possessed : Goods and chattels, knives, dresses, 
blankets, pots and kettles, dogs, and horses, and guns; 
and all were placed in the possession of the sfake-Jiold- 
ers, who sat by them, and watched them all night, pre- 
paratory to the play." 

A dance occupied the entire night preceding the 
game, which Catlin pronounced to be ''one of the most 
picturesque scenes imaginable. " Of it he says : 

"The ground having been all prepared, and prelim- 
inaries all settled, and the betting all made, and goods 
all 'staked,' niglit came on without the appearance of 
any players on the grounds. But soon after dark, a 
procession of lighted flambeaux was seen coming from 
each encampment to the ground, where the players as- 
sembled around their respective byes ; and at the beat of 
diiim and chants of the women, each party of players 
commenced the 'ball-play dance.' Eaeh party danced 
for a quarter of an hour around their respective byes 
in their ball-play dress, rattling their ball-sticks together 
in the most violent manner, and all singing as loud as 
they could raise their voices, whilst the women of each 
party, who had their goods at stake, formed into two 
rows on the line between the two parties of playcre, and 
danced also in uniform step, and all their voices joined 
in chants to the Great Spirit, in whicli they were so- 
liciting his favor in deciding the game to their advan- 

8 



tage, and also encouraging the players to exert every 
power they possessed in the struggle that was to ensue. 
In the meantime four old medicine-men, who were to 
have the starting of the ball, and who were to be judges 
of the play, were seated at the point where the ball was 
to be started, and busily smoking to the Great Spirit 
for their success in judging aright and impartially be- 
tween the parties in so important an affair." 

After a night of such vigils ensued the great contest 
that taxed the full measure of strength, skill, and en- 
durance of several hundred naked, howling savages dur- 
ing a period of nine or ten hours. Descriptions of the 
game give one the impression that it combined features 
to be found in baseball, foot-ball, and tennis. The red 
man found the prairie lying north of the mouth of the 
Wisconsin River well suited for his game of ball, and 
here, doubtless, he came to play it for centuries before 
the advent of the white man. 

The first coming of white men to this region was on 
June 17, 1673, when Louis Joliet, the explorer, with 
Father James Marquette among his companions, reached 
the goal of his arduous search, and at the mouth of the 
Wisconsin River saw before him the waters and rugged 
shores of the great, unknown river he Avas seeking. The 
transports of delight that must have filled the hearts of 
these brave voyagers upon this first view by white men 
of the Mississippi River were not dwelt upon by Father 
Marquette, but in this single phrase "with a joy I can 
not express, ' ' he summed up his own emotions. Without 
waste of words he closed his account of the most im- 
portant event in the Upper Mississippi Valley : an occa- 
sion for which he found that words were inadequate. 

It should be remembered by everyone that all careful 
historians speak of the discovery of the Mississippi River 
as the accomplishment of Joliet and Marquette, always 
keeping in mind that Joliet was the man whom Fronte- 
nac sent in search of the "Great River of the West;" 
that Joliet was obliged to winter at Mackinac, where he 
found Marquette, who with him completed the jouniey 

9 



and became its historian for which he deserves due 
honor; but his position in the undertaking was sec- 
ondary, therefore simple, every-day justice requires the 
phicing of Joliet's name first, and it is robbing him to 
call it Marquette's expedition or discovery. 

For nearly two hundred years after the white man 
reached the Upper Mississippi River the mouth of the 
Wisconsin River was a pivotal point for tlic traveler. 
There the course of the early explorers and traders com- 
ing westward by the Fox and AVisconsin Rivers route 




i 



1 



J'hutu hy Clark 



Hanging Rock 
10 



swung either to the nortli or to the south. It was con- 
sidered a strategic point also. Grovernor William Clark 
said of it : " "Whoever holds Prairie du Chien holds the 
Upper Mississippi." It seems to have been an accept- 
ance of this view that led early explorers to establish 
forts at this place. The first of these was built in 1683 
by the illustrious and gallant Robert de La Salle, and 
the second soon afterward l)y Nicholas Perrot. 

The history of Perrot 's achievements ought to be bet- 
ter known by the present inhabitants of the region 
wherein he once held sway for his accomplishment was 
most remarkable ; his exploits sometimes bordered on the 
spectacular. At the outset his title "Commandant of 
the West" captures our fancy. That he should have 
been sent with an army of forty men to hold so vast a 
territory excites our astonishment ; that with this small 
number of Frenchmen he built forts in various places 
and held for several years all the region of the northwest 
for his country and his king to the entire satisfaction of 
his superiors commands our admiration. To a research 
study by Gardiner P. Stickney, which was published in 
the Parkman Club Papers (1896), we are indebted for 
the most extended history of Nicholas Perrot, concern- 
ing whom he wrote : 

"His name is continually found in the records of 
Canada from 1665 to 1700 and always in honorable, 
often in important, connection. His influence with the 
Indians w^as unequalled, even Du Lhut being obliged at 
one time to call for his assistance." 

Stickney describes him as: 

"The most successful of all the French emissanes 
among the Western Indians. Perrot wa.s a man of hum- 
ble birth. So unimportant did he seem that neither his 
parentage, the place of his birth, nor the year of his 
arrival in New France is matter of record so far as 
recent research has been possible to ascertain." 

The year of Perrot 's birth was 1644. In his youth for 
four or five years he was in the service of the mission- 
aries, acting for them in the capacity of body-sem^ant, 

11 



farm-hand, and hunter, until ho reached his majority in 
1665. when he for the first time came West. He visited 
the Pottawattamics and later the Fox Indians in their 
villages in eastern Wisconsin. The Foxes were then suf- 
fering from dire want, but Perrot's kindly tact won 
their regard so that the people of this proud and 
haughty tribe became his steadfast friends, and at one 
time saved him from being burned at the stake by the 
Miamis. Their friendship for him calls for greater 
astonishment, when it is remembered that for the French 




Ruins of Fur Warehouse Built by John Jacob Astor 

in general the Foxes cherished undying hatred. It 
throws a side-light on the rare character and ability of 
this man, who twenty years later took possession of the 
country as ''Commandant of the AVest;" who held back 
the tribes from internecine warfare ; who built stockaded 
trading posts, bought furs of the Indians and justly 
gained their lasting esteem. He even was 'Svept over" 
by the Sioux, and by the lowa}^ Indians. This unique 
ceremony consisted in saturating thoroughly his hair 
and clothing with the tears of the principal men of the 
tribe. Two stories told by Justin Winsor illustrate Per- 

12 



rot 's method of outwitting tlie savages. One relates that 
when hostile Indians were lying in ambush to rob his 
camp, they were deterred by his showing of a superior 
force. This he secured by ordering his six companions 
to appear in frequently changed attires. The other 
story describes the strategy by which he induced some 
Sioux Indians to return stolen goods after threatening 
to burn up their marshes if they did not comply. To 
show his ability, he poured water into a cup, which un- 
known to them held brandy, that he set on fire. 

The fort (or more correctly the stockaded trading 
post), built by Perrot at the mouth of the Wisconsin 
River, was named St. Nicholas. It is believed that its 
erection was not long after 1685. At this late date it is 
impossible to leam how much of his time the "Com- 
mandant of the West" spent at this post, or what thrill- 
ing scenes of his life were enacted here. It must suffice 
for us to know that the first white man to hold office in 
this region, and the first to spend any considerable por- 
tion of his time here was a masterful man, kindly of 
heart., versatile of wit, prompt in action, faithful in 
sei'vice, constant in friendship, and just in his dealings 
with the Indians. After his removal from office, the In- 
dians in 1701 held a great council in Montreal, where 
they complained long and bitterly over their deprivation. 
Hebberd, in his "Wisconsin Under French Dominion," 
says of Nicholas Pen'ot: 

"His last work was a memoir addressed to the colo- 
nial authorities, about 1716. It was an appeal, not for 
himself, but for wiser and more humane treatment of 
his old fi-iends, the Foxes, then just beginning that tre- 
mendous revolt, which was to prove so disastrous to the 
French Dominion. With this kindly and characteristic 
act, the bowed figure of Perrot vanishes from the dimly 
lighted state of western histoiy. " 

During the life-time of Perrot other noted explorers 
came into this portion of the Mississippi Valley among 
whom were Father Hennepin, Pien:'e le Sueur and 
Baron la Hontan. Both Le Sueur and Perrot made dis- 

13 



<;overi€s of mineral wealth, and both made journeys to 
France to secure licenses to work the mines they had 
found. Perrot's discovery was of lead in the vicinity of 
Oalena, Illinois, and Le Sueur, having ascended the 
Mississippi River in 1700, found lead in the k)wer and 
upper fields, and copper farther north. 

In time Fort St. Nicholas, the trading post of Perrot. 
fell into disuse and decay for no permanent white settle- 
ment was made at Prairie du Chien until the vear 1781, 




Ruins of the Hospital of Old Fort Crawford at 
Prairie du Chien 

when three Frenchmen, Giard, Ange, and Antaya made 
it their home. After the Louisiana Purchase the gov- 
■ernment of the United States sent Lieutenant Zebulon 
M, Pike to explore the Upper Mississippi Valley and to 
select locations suitable for military posts. He, too, rec- 
ognized the strategic value of the region at the mouth of 
the Wisconsin River, but a fort was not begun at Prairie 
du Chien until 1813. It was named Fort Shelby, and 
was renamed Fort McKay the following year after hav- 
ing been captured by the British, who held it several 

14 



1 



months. Not long after their evacuation of it this fort 
was burned. On its site in 1816 another fort was built, 
and in honor of the Secretary of the Treasury it was 
named Fort Crawford. Ten years later for sanitary 
reasons a new fort was erected in another part of the 
town, that was garrisoned for thirty years. Government 
ownership of it ceased in 1864. Prairie du Chien was 
associated with many notable men and events during the 
military occupation of Fort Crawford. Once for several 
years its commanding officer was Colonel Zachaiy Taylor 
(afterward President Taylor), and one of his lieutenants 
was Jefferson Davis, who later became his son-in-law, 
contrary to his wishes. To this frontier outpost came 
men, remembered for their contributions to scientific 
knowledge : such were Dr. Beaumont, Thomas Nuttall, 
and Henry R. Schoolcraft ; and there came also George 
Catlin, the artist, and as commissioners in Indian affairs 
such men as Generals William Clark and Lewis Cass, 
]\Iajor Lawrence Taliaferro, and Thomas L. McKenney. 

For a correct appreciation of the treaty-making 
councils held at Prairie du Cliien it is necessary to 
understand the early history of the Indians who oc- 
cupied this region at the time of the white man's 
appearance on the scene. The hunting-grounds of the 
AVinnebagoes extended south to the Wisconsin River; 
the allied tribe of Sacs and Foxes claimed the land on 
the east side of the Mississippi that lies between the 
Wisconsin and Rock Rivers, together with all the land 
now comprised in the state of Iowa and the northern 
portion of Missouri ; while the Sioux were war-lords over 
most of the present state of Minnesota and the Dakotas. 
In disposition the AVinnebagoes were decidedly more 
peaceful than the neighboring tribes. 

Some of these patient mound builders of Wisconsin 
have evinced artistic and poetic conceptions of a quality 
unsuspected in savage minds. A single example will 
serve to illustrate : The chieftancy of the tribe once 
resided in a woman. She bore the name of Glory of the 
Morning. Did parents of any tongue at any time in 

15 



the world's history choose a more beautiful name for a 
beloved daughter"? Tiecall if you please a morning in 
June with the newly risen sun gi\ing comforting 
warmth, with the air freighted Avith the perfume of 
flowers, bringing to the ear the joyous songs of many 
birds, and with the fresh green leaves glistening with 
dew-drops. With the glory of such a morning in mind, 
can you imagine a prettier name for a cherished child, 
a winsome girl, or a chamiing young woman? Besides, 
there was a measure of appropriateness in the name for 
the bearer, when she became old and unattractive, since 
then she could be called simply "Old Glory." This 
queen of the Winnebagoes married a Frenchman, whose 
name has been spelled variously: De Karie, De Carry, 
De-ca-ri, De Kaury, Du Corre and De Cora, but we 
know it best as Decorah. Her husband returned to 
Canada and in fighting his country's battles fell, mor- 
tally wounded, in 1760. The living descendants of this 
couple are numerous, and an exalted appreciation of 
nature still survives in at least one of their number, who 
has been recognized as an artist of merit, and whose 
writings have been published in the highest class of mag- 
azines under her maiden name of Angel De Cora. 

The investigator pursuing a research study of the Sac 
and Fox Indians is fortunate in finding a great wealth 
of material. What has been written concerning them 
fills volumes. As a starter for a list of such volumes, one 
may mention Black Hawk's autobiography, dictated by 
him to Antoine Le Claire, then there might follow Heb- 
berd's "Wisconsin under French Dominion," in which 
he argues that the downfall of the nile of the French 
in America was greatly accelerated by the blows dealt 
them by the Fox Indians. The collections of writings 
known as the "Jesuit Relations" abound in reference 
to the Sacs and Foxes. They were in the lime-light of 
public attention when Catlin and Lewis were portray- 
ing Indians on canvas, and word pictures of them have 
been left us by Schoolcraft, McKenney, Pike, and a host 
of other writers. 

16 



r 



According to Black Hawk's story, the Sacs once lived 
in the vicinity of Quebec and were driven westward by 
the hostility of neighboring tribes; the Foxes, too, came 
from the east, and are supposed to have been of Iroquois 
origin. After an alliance was formed between these 
tribes their war strength grew to such proportions that 
they were soon carrying their victorious arms against 
the Illinois tribe and usurping the latter 's domani. 




Young Sac and Fox Indians in their Holiday Attire 

They lived on friendly terms with the Winnebagoes, but 
perpetual enmity existed between them and the Sioux, 
because of a lack of agreement regarding the boundaries 
of their respective hunting-grounds. It was for the pur- 
pose of settling boundary disputes between warring 
tribes that the Indians of the Upper Mississippi Valley 
were summoned to a great council at Prairie du Chien 
in August of 1825. 

17 



It is sometimes erroneously stated that the Ijiiying of 
land from the Indians was the object of the council of 
1825 and another important one in 1830, also held at 
Prairie du Chien, whereas both related entirely to 
boundary matters of interest to the tribes of Minnesota, 
Iowa, Wisconsin, and a part of Illinois. The discerning 
historian veiy correctly has styled the treaty ratified at 
the council of 1825 as "the celebrated treaty." It is 
believed that the gathering was the most imposing of 
any at a treaty-making council. At all events it is the 
one of which we have the fullest accounts, for School- 
craft was present and wrote vivid descriptions of the 




Photo by Huiinns 

The Town of ]\IcGregor now stands in the Coulee 

DES Sioux: the place of Encampment of the Sacs 

AND Foxes and the Iovvay Indians in 1825 



various scenes he witnessed, and the treaty, as pul)lished, 
furnishes us with the names of the Indian signers. In 
addition to this is the "Indian Biography," written by 
Thomas L. IMcKenney, who visited the place two years 
later, and George Catlin painted the portraits of many 
of these Indian participants of whom JVIcKenney has 
left us the word pictures. No other event in Indian 
history seems to have been so Avell recorded, none other 
offers such a mass of material for correct reproduction in 
moving pictures or for pageantiy. The first centennial 

18 



anniversary of the great council might very appropri- 
ately be celebrated in 1925 by pageants. 

To the meeting at Prairie du Chien in the summer of 
1825 there came not only the chiefs and principal men 
of the tribes, but their families, and all others who cared 
to attend. The whole prairie, five or six miles in length, 
was covered with their tepees and wickiups. This space 
being insufficient, the islands in the river were filled 
with Indian encampments, and on the Iowa side of the 
.Mississippi in a narrow valley (then called the Coulee 
des Sioux), where the town of McGregor now stands, 
the Sacs and Foxes and the loways had pitched their 
lodges. These tribes were the last to arrive, and their 
coming had been marked by spectacular demonstrations. 
In their canoes, which were lashed together, they stood, 
decorated and painted with greatest care, singing their 
war-song as time after time they passed the encampment 
of their enemy, the Sioux. 

Many a town or county in the Upper Mississippi Val- 
ley bears today the name of some prominent Indian, 
who was present at that council. Some names have been 
translated into English, some have been changed in 
spelling, while others are written exactly as they ap- 
peared in the signed treaty. A few of the names that 
have been perpetuated are Wabasha, Sleepy Eye, Red 
Wing, Shakopee, Decorah, Winneshiek, Waukon, Tama, 
Keokuk, Wapello, Poweshiek, and Mahaska. 

No evidence has been found to show that the noted 
Black Hawk was present at the council of 1825. He may 
have been on his regular visit to his "British Fa,- 
thers" at Maiden, where he went annually for pres- 
ents and to plot Avith them against his white neighbors ; 
but there was no lack of other imposing characters 
among the red men. Of such was Ap-pa-noose, a heredi- 
tary chieftain, whose Indian idea of propriety did not 
restrain him from saying that he was a very fine man, 
quite the equal of any one; of such also was Mon-da- 
tonga, the great athlete, whose feats of strength, endur- 
ance, and bravery were most extraordinary. To this 

19 



council there came Wau-cau-che, a man of inferior mold, 
iinpleasing of face, without repute as a warrior, yet the 
possessor of sterling good sense and of such sound judg- 
ment, that he ranked high in the councils of his tribe. 
And Keokuk was there — even then how Black Hawk 
hated him ! — Keokuk, the resolute leader, whom the 
young men adored ; the able counselor, whom the old 
men applauded. Keokuk, the bold warnor, whose flash- 
ing eye never quailed l^efore a foe; the dashing rider, 
Avhose horse was the finest in the whole "West. Keokuk, 
the silver-tongued, whose eloquence turned all hearts 
whither he listed ; whose prudent counsels kept his band 
from participating in the Black Hawk War. Keokuk, 
the courtly chieftain, whose fine personality captivated 
the fancy and won the admiration of eveiy white man 
he met; whose character justified the appellation of "the 
noble red man," 









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Ph.io by Horning 

Where the Water Lilies Grow 

There came to this council from the far distant shores 
of the Sault Ste. Marie the head chief of the Chippewas, 
Shin-gau-ba W'Ossin, who although threatened with 

20 



blindness, failed not to be at hand to wield his great in- 
fluence for the welfare of his people. Because this gath- 
ering was within their own borders the Winnebagoes 
could attend in great numbers. Among their leading 
men, whose names appear upon the treaty were three of 
the De-ca-ri family, a son, and two grandsons of Glory 
of the Moniing. The names of the latter, as written, 
were Watch-kat-o-que, the Big Canoe, and Wakun-haga, 
Snake-skin. They probably had several wives apiece as 
was the Indian custom, but that they out-Mormoned the 
Latter Day Saints with twenty-one and eleven wives 
respectively seems to have been a decided exaggeration. 
One striking figure in this tribe was Naw-kaw, who at 
the age of ninety was still erect, muscular, and fond of 
fine clothes. Their hereditaiy chief should have led the 
Sioux Indians, but because of the disrepute into which 
he had fallen, leadership had passed to Wabasha, Wan- 
nata, and other sub-chiefs. 

At length all had arrived. Upon the east side of the 
Mississippi above the village of Prairie du Chien were 
located the conical-shaped tepees of the Sioux, their cov- 
erings of whitened buffalo skins decorated with various 
hieroglypliics made a bright picture. Near them were 
placed the elliptical lodges, covered with mats of birch 
bark, that belonged to the Chippewas. South of the vil- 
lage and on the islands were encamped the Menominees, 
Ottawas, Pottawattamies, and Winnebagoes, while across 
the Mississippi were the loways and the Sacs and Foxes. 
The braves vied with each other in personal embellish- 
ment, and their completed toilets showed them with their 
bodies painted in variegated hues; with their heads 
shaven except for a lock upon the top to which was 
fastened a tuft of horse-hair, dyed bright red ; with their 
ears pierced in several places bearing various ornaments, 
such as strings of beads, bells, heads of birds, and tails of 
foxes; withal, their war-bonnets of feathers, and their 
beautifully wrought calumets of red pipe-stone, decor- 
ated with the brilliant plumage of birds added to their 
gorgeous appearance. The squaws, too, were not want- 

21 



ing in a certain magiiifieonee of dress; besides garments 
of skin eniljroidered as handsomely as were the roljcs of 
tlioir husbands, some of them wore dresses made of costly 
stuffs, woven by white hands. Such a garment belonged 
to the favorite wife of Keokuk, "the upper portion of 
it bein'g almost literally covered with silver brooches." 

The council was held in an immense booth covered 
with the branches of trees. On a raised bench sat the 
memljers of the commission, and near them were sta- 
tioned the oi!icers and soldiers of Fort Crawford. Be- 
hind them were seated the wives of the officers and other 
ladies of Prairie du Chicn. Facing this small assem- 
blage of white people was the great concourse of red 
men. In the first semi-circle Avere the chiefs and prin- 
cipal men, behind them the less important people, in- 
cluding the women and children. The much vexed ques- 
tions concerning their boundaries were discussed with 
passionate zeal. Of the Sacs and Foxes, who felt them- 
selves especially aggrieved, Schoolcraft wrote : ' ' Their 
martial bearing, their high tone, and whole behavior 
during their stay, in and out of council, was impressive, 
and demonstrated in an eminent degree to what a high 
pitch of physical and moral courage, bravery and suc- 
cess in war may lead a savage people. Keokuk, who led 
them, stood with his war lance, his high crest of feathers, 
and daring eye, like another Coriolanus, and when he 
spoke in council and at the same time shook his lance 
at his enemies, the Sioux, it was evident that he wanted 
but an opportunity to make their blood flow like water. 
Wapello and other chiefs backed him, and the whole 
array with their shaved heads and high crests of horse- 
hair, told the spectators plainly, that each of these men 
held his life in his hands, and Avas ready to spring to the 
work of slaughter at the cry of his chief. ' ' 

After weeks of strenuous laboring with the various 
tribes a treaty was signed on August 19, which fixed a 
boundary line between the Sioux and the allied tribes of 
Sacs and Foxes. Its description was : ' ' Commencing at 
the mouth of the Upper Iowa River and ascending said 

22 



kli* 



river to its west fork ; thence up the fork to its source ; 
thence crossing to the fork of the Red Cedar River in a 
direct line to the second or upper fork of the Des Moines 
River; thence in a direct line to the lower fork of the 
Calumet River, and down that river to its junction with 
the Missouri River." The commissioners, pleased with 
the thought that there need be no more warfare over dis- 
puted hunting-grounds, departed for their homes and 
the Indians dispersed. But a well-defined boundary line 
was little hindrance to scalp-taking on part of Sioux. 
or of Sacs and Foxes. Five years later all the tribes 
were again summoned to a general council at Prairie du 
Chien. Again the.y gathered in multitudes; again sav- 
age finery was flaunted, and savage throats were filled 
with defiant yells ; again savage dnims were beaten, and 
spears were brandished at the hated foe ; and again the 
wise arguments of the commissioners prevailed. On 
their part the Sioux ceded to the United States a tract 
of land, twenty miles wide, north of the boundary line, 
and the Sacs and Foxes a corresponding area south of 
that line. This tract was known as the "Neutral Strip." 
But a neutral strip forty miles wade did not serve to 
keep apart these inveterate foes. Two years later their 
tribal hostilities were interrupted by the breaking out 
of the Black Hawk War. As reparation for losses sus- 
tained in that war the United States exacted from the 
Sacs- and Fox Indians the relinquishment of the eastern 
portion of Iowa. 

Previous to 1832, our government kept a watchful 
ward over these acres of the Indians. One of the prin- 
cipal field duties of the soldiers stationed at Fort Craw- 
ford was to hunt out the unscrupulous white men, who 
unlawfully crossed to the west side of the Mississippi 
River. The manner of the coming of the white settlers 
into the area under consideration differed not at all 
from that into the neighboring regions, but it did differ 
from that into some portions of the United States, inas- 
much as it was less arduous. Pioneers traveled by steam- 
boat over the Great Lakes to Milwaukee or Chicago, or 

23 



down the Ohio and up the Mississippi River to some 
landing place, thence by horse or ox team to their des- 
tinations. Rarely did they make the entire journey 
from the East by wa^on. The few foreign immigrants 
who came did so mostly by the way of New Orleans. 
All this refers to the true pioneers ; for those who came 
to tliis region after 1850 cannot truthfully be ranged as 
pioneei-s. The facilities of easy water transportation 
brought the necessities and many of the comforts of life 
within reach of the enterprising pioneer, but the lazy 
and shiftless did without the comforts and sometimes 
the necessities then, even as they do now. 

In early days changes came slowly. The first railway, 
that reached Prairie du Chien in the spring of 1857, 
marked the beginning of many changes. Since then two 




Mussel Fishing 



important industries, lumber-rafting and mussel-fishing, 
have had their rise and fall. In recent yeara there may 
be seen occasionally the flat-bottomed boat of a lone mus- 
sel-fisherman, locally called a "clammer, " such as for- 
merly dotted the river by the hundreds. With his four- 
pronged, "crowfoot" grapple he drags the bottom of the 

24 




river and hooks unlucky mussels resting thereon : the 
deerhorn, butterfly, sand shell, niggerhead, and mucket, 
all valuable for button-making, besides many other 
species worthless for that purpose. In years past these 
unsalable shells, cast away on the shores of the Missis- 
sippi, paved them to a depth of a foot or more with 
their beautiful iridescent coverings. In those days one 
needed not to die and go to heaven in order to walk the 
pearly streets. 

For the fisher of mussels there is ever the lure of the 
pearl, since almost any lowly mussel may conceal \^^thin 
its mantle a pearl of great price. An inventory of the 
pearls found in this region would make a most interest- 
ing list. Eighteen years ago a Prairie du Chien news- 
paper's report of the pearls found and sold in the month 
of May showed the neat receipts of $25,000 therefrom. 
The great numbers found in the Mississippi River and 
its tributaries together with the high prices received for 
fine specimens are corroborative of the tales told by 
Father Zenobius Membre, De Soto, Sir Walter Raleigh, 
and other explorers, who spoke of the abundance and 
magnificence of the pearls possessed by the Indians of 
their day, though nothing then or now appears compar- 
able with the story of Pliny, the elder, concerning Cleo- 
patra 's two pear-shaped pearls valued at $400,000. 

Beyond question numerous pearls have been found, 
that rivaled the famous Queen Pearl, weighing ninety- 
three grains, which was found in 1857 at Notch Brook, 
New Jersey, and sold to Empress Eugenie for $2500, but 
afterward considered worth four times that amount. It 
is hazardous to affirm that a "clammer" has received 
$5000 or $6000 for a single pearl, as is sometimes claimed. 

No locality appears to be free from preposterous stor- 
ies. Some such fakes sprout and die from lack of cul- 
tivation, from want of that harrowing and stirring of 
the soil by which frequent repetition nurtures the myth- 
ical tale. Of this class was the story, started about forty 
years ago, to the effect that it was at Prairie du Chien 
that Dr. Beaumont made his remarkable experiments on 

25 



digestion in the case of Alexis St. Martin. The army 
records sliow that Dr. Beaumont was at Mackinaw in 
1822, which accords with the accepted accounts of St. 
Martin's accident and treatment, but his nurse did move 
to Prairie du Chien some years later. 

With no better foundation than the foregoing are two 
other bogus stories. One of them refers to the marriage 
of Miss Sarah Knox Taylor, a daughter of Zachary Tay- 
lor, to Jefferson Davis, Avhich took place at Louisville, 
Kentucky, at the home of her aunt, and without the con- 
sent of her father. Based on her father's opposition to 
her marriage a story of an elopement was fabricated, 
that is still circulated even though the proofs against it 
are well knoAvn. For these proofs no better witness is 
needed than Jefferson Davis, himself, who has stated 
that he was at Fort Gibson, Arkansas, on the day that 
Miss Taylor left Prairie du Chien by steamer under the 
care of the captain of the vessel. Before its departure, 
to her father, who was on the boat transacting some regi- 
mental business, she made a final, but fruitless, appeal 
for his consent to her marriage. Some of us can remem- 
ber, when the elopement stoiy was started at the time of 
the Civil War, and that it took by surprise old-time resi- 
dents of Prairie du Chien, who had lived there twenty- 
five or more years. 

Of all the fakes perhaps the ''Black Hawk Tree" is 
the most ridiculous. If the origin of this travesty could 
be hunted to its lair, it most likely would be found in 
the "dark room" of some hustling photographer bent 
on making salable post cards, but he failed to invent a 
plausible theory for Black Hawk's hiding in a tree at 
Prairie du Chien. In his autobiography Black Hawk 
mentions no such shady retreat. No evidence can be 
found of his attendance at the treaty-making council of 
1825, or that of 1830. The only important occasion 
known on which he visited Prairie du Chien was in 1832 
after his war on the whites, and his defeat at Battle Is- 
land, which lies a short distance south of the village of 
Victory. At that time he was brought a prisoner to Fort 

26 







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Crawford by Big Canoe, called One-eyed Decorah, the 
grandson of Grlory of tlie Morning. Before delivering 
his prisoner it is improbable that One-eyed Decorah per- 
mitted him to indulge in arboreal ascents even for a 
pastime; and after Black Hawk's release there was no 
incentive for him to hide or to resort to acrobatic stunts 
that would tax the agility of a man in his sixty-sixth 
year. 

From a history abounding in important and interest- 
ing events only an item here and there has been selected, 
nevertheless it is a history well worth more extendea 
recital, and one far too unfamiliar to all. Because our 
school histories are written in the East our school-chil- 
dren learn that without special quest for it Henry Hud- 
son discovered the river that bears his name, but they fail 
to hear of Louis Joliet, who was commmissioned to seek 
and find the "Father of Waters," and who faithfully 
executed his commission amid manifold hardships and 
dangers. The story of Captain John Smith is familiar 
to every school-boy, but Nicholas Perrot, a man of vastly 
greater influence in shaping the history of our nation, 
who was twice condemned to death by Indians, is a char- 
acter of whom no mention is made. The council of peace 
held on the banks of the Delaware River to which were 
called the neighboring tribes of Indians by William 
Penn is ever duly narrated, but the many and exceed- 
ingly picturesque gatherings, not only for peace treaties, 
but also for land-purchases held at various places on 
the banks of the Mississippi River have been allowed to 
slip into undeserved obscurity. 

It is a noble plan to offer to tired humanity attractive 
spots for rest and recreation, to preserve beautiful scen- 
ery, and to commemorate heroic deeds. Public parks in 
the vicinity of Prairie du Chien and McGregor will do 
all these things and they both could and should do vastly 
more. The scientific assets of the locality make it a field 
for constant discoveries though the name Discovery Park 
may never be chosen in commemoration of the discovery 
of the Mississippi River. A few years ago at Prairie du 

27 



Chien there was discovered by Father Muekermaiin a 
subspecies of the aniazoii ants, which has been named 
Polyergus hicolor. Simultaneously Avith his discovery it 
was found for the first time (at Rockford, Illinois), by 
Professor William M. Wheeler, one of the most eminent 
myrmecologists of the whole world. Those who have 
their eyes open and are looking for the Avonders of nat- 
ure, for the new, the strange, the unusual, Avill find them 
even in the waste places of the earth. Though scientists 
have delighted to honor our region with their attention 
and have found it yielding rich harvests for their labors 




Members of the Sac and Fox Tribe in 1900 



in it, though it may hold a host of unknown things still 
awaiting a discoverjgr, yet it is not for learned scientists 
tliat we need parks for discovery, but for the unlearned 
masses. While men, women, and children for their 
bodily welfare seek rest and recreation in the open coun- 
try, where the air is fresh, the sky unobscured, the earth 
crowned with beautiful plant life, and the waters favor- 
able for the sports of boating and fishing, at the same 
time their minds will be enriched with a better, a more 

28 



intimate acquaintanceship with nature, if a little help 
is furnished them. 

It has been my privilege to suggest that a park in this 
region, which offers such lavish wealth of material for 
seientitic study, should afford the advantages of an open 
air museum. Those of us who have visited Scandinavia 
will not forget the exhibition at Bygdo in Norway, nor 
the Skansen of Stockholm, Sweden. In accepting these 
as admirable patterns where better can we work them 
out? Where better can we preserve for coming genera- 
tions a true presentation of the cabin with its furnish- 
ings of the early white settlers, the tepee of the Sioux, 
the wickiup of the Sacs and Foxes, and the lodge of the 
Winnebagoes, than on the very acres where a hundred 
years ago these habitations were to be found? 

In working out the Skansen idea of an open air mu- 
seum even more than has been done in Stockholm could 
be done in this region, where the natural advantages are 
greater. Scientific labels for our trees would soon make 
our forty-three species known by name to visitors. Scien- 
tific labels placed here and there among the blooming 
wild flowers would make their correct names familiar, 
and people would cease calling the spring beauty a May- 
flower, and the wild columbine would no longer be dubbed 
a honeysuckle. Methods similar to those used about 
flying-cages in zoological parks could be employed to 
teach the identity of the two hundred or more species of 
birds to be found in this region. At my home in Nation- 
al, six miles from the Mississippi River, for the first time 
in ornithological history, the whole home life of five 
hole-nesting species of birds has been exposed to the 
watchful eyes of the curious. The same contrivances 
that have been successful in one place could be employed 
with similar success in another place eight or nine miles 
away. By means of mirrors and lenses the nest activities 
could be reflected and thrown on a screen for the instruc- 
tion and amusement of a crowd of people, whose near 
approach to the nest would not be admissible. Of the 
five species of birds under consideration the Screech 

29 



Owl and the Sparrow Hawk afford less amusement, but 
the domestic life of the Northern Flicker, or of the 
House Wren furnishes a melodrama of the most enter- 
taining sort, in sliarp contrast with the gentle, affection- 
ate home life of the Chimney Swift. 

Our country's need of many parks is manifest. Cities 
need many, ])ut tliese usually must be of the formal, 
" keep-off-the-grass " sort. To these there should be add- 
ed many more outside of large cities, where natural at- 
tractions are most pleasing ; where the people may resort 
for the study of nature, and the freedom of out-of-doors 




Photo by Hojiniig 



On the Yellow River 



living ; where the folklore and open air museum ideas 
can be worked out. Largely to the foresight and untir- 
ing zeal of the late Senator Rol^ert Glenn of Wyalusing 
the world is indebted for the establishment by the State 
of Wisconsin of such a park at the mouth of the Wis- 
consin River. It preseiwes most interesting Indian 
mounds and possesses all the natural advantages that 
the foregoing pages have enumerated. The immense 
value of this praiseworthy accomplishment will be great- 
ly enhanced if the acreage of this park is supplemented 

30 



by a similar reservation, which shall include islands in 
the Mississippi River and the loAva bluffs opposite. 

This project is one bespeaking the good-Avill and hearty 
cooperation of all, whether viewed from the standpoint 
of the historian, the pleasure-lover, the naturalist, or the 
conservationist. Moreover, the speechless creatures of 
the air, the earth, and the w^aters, signal to us to speak 
for them. National Parks mean the conservation of wild 
life. The ]McIlhenny idea emphasizes the value of a park 
in this chosen situation as a necessary resting-place for 
migratory birds. The need of the birds for this sanc- 
tuary of rest is pressing at this hour, even more press- 
ing at present than are the needs of mankind for a recre- 
ational park, and the time seems ripe for action. 

The establishment of such a park will in no wise affect 
the voeational or monetary interests of the majority of 
the people in the region about McGregor or Prairie du 
Chien. For a very few it may have slight advantages, 
and for others slight disadvantages, especially for those 
of us, whose work or study is best pursued "far from 
the madding crowd, ' ' — but altruism hurts no one. It is 
clear that the span of life of no one is long; and it is 
equally clear that historical associations, beautiful scen- 
ery, scientific opportunity, and social betterment, all 
unite in pointing to the urgency of preserving this bit of 
unspoiled nature for the enjoyment of the generations 
yet to come. 



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LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 




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